


under the mistletoe

by imposterhuman



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Little bit of angst, M/M, Matchmaker Natasha Romanov, Mistletoe, Oblivious Tony Stark, Pining, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, bucky has no idea what hes doing and it shows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:34:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21679822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imposterhuman/pseuds/imposterhuman
Summary: Tony was pretty sure Bucky was avoiding him.He’d barely seen the assassin since Natasha had put the mistletoe up around the Compound. Tony definitely wasn’t taking it personally, not even when he saw Bucky talking perfectly normally to the rest of the team, only to disappear when Tony entered the room.Okay, so maybe he was taking it a little personally.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 9
Kudos: 453





	under the mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy!!

Tony was pretty sure Bucky was avoiding him. 

He’d barely seen the assassin since Natasha had put the mistletoe up around the Compound. Tony definitely wasn’t taking it personally, not even when he saw Bucky talking perfectly normally to the rest of the team, only to disappear when Tony entered the room.

Okay, so maybe he was taking it a little personally. 

He’d honestly thought him and Bucky were getting along. They spent a lot of time together, more than Tony spent with anyone else save the bots. Bucky had made a habit of lurking in the lab while Tony worked, even if he was just dozing on the couch and listening to Tony chatter on about his projects. Tony would have even called them friends, and he didn’t do that with many people.

But then the mistletoe went up and Bucky disappeared. 

“Stupid weed,” Tony cursed, pulling another sprig of mistletoe off of a doorway. He’d gotten a little desperate; he hadn’t realized how much he’d miss Bucky until the man stopped showing up to the lab. Even though food and coffee still showed up like clockwork, it wasn’t the same without Bucky gently bullying him to eat it. So he’d decided to fix the issue. 

Tony had no idea  _ why  _ the mistletoe would be the problem, if he was being honest. It wasn’t like the kisses meant anything, but the one time Bucky had been in the vicinity when Tony got caught under it with Natasha, he’d had to get a cleaner bot to sweep up the broken glass.

He paused, heart sinking. Maybe Bucky had a thing for Natasha, and he was mad at Tony for kissing her. It would make sense; they were both hot, deadly Russian assassins. They could bond over shooting people, or something. 

Tony would never admit it, not outside of the privacy of his own head (and to JARVIS when drunk. And Pepper. And Rhodey. But only them, but they’d all keep his secret), but he maybe, possibly had the tiniest crush on Bucky. A small one, because he was an adult man and didn’t get crushes. Infinitesimal, really. Barely noticeable.

Maybe Bucky had noticed, and that was why he was avoiding Tony?

Tony scowled as he pulled at a particularly stubborn branch that Natasha had probably superglued to the doorframe for all that it was budging. People were confusing; he was starting to wish he could just live in the lab like he used to so that he wouldn’t have to deal with them. 

“What are you doing up so late?” a voice sounded, startling Tony.

His hands flew into a defensive position by reflex, relaxing when he recognized the voice. “None of your business, Buckaroo,” he said breezily. “Go back to bed.”

“It looks a little like you’re destroying the Christmas decorations everyone put up,” Bucky came a little closer. “What, are you not feeling the spirit this year?”

“Oh, so we’re done with the silent treatment now?” Tony snarked, crossing his arms. He leaned against the wall, projecting casual indifference for all he was worth. He regretted it as soon as he said it. Bucky’s face dropped and his shoulders slumped.

“I’m sorry, Tony,” he said in that stupidly earnest voice of his, avoiding Tony’s eyes. “I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Stop that,” Tony made a face, but softened. He dropped his arms to his sides. “Stop being so sincere; it makes it very hard to stay mad at you.”

Bucky cracked a hesitant smile. “Maybe that was my plan all along,” he teased, a light step towards their normal banter. “Is it working?”

“Guess you’ll just have to stick around and find out,” Tony shrugged, hoping it didn’t sound as vulnerable as he thought it did. “I’m headed to the lab, wanna come with?”

“Sounds good,” Bucky nodded. “I’ll grab snacks and meet you down there.”

He fell in step next to Tony as they walked through the doorway. “Grab the cookies- Jesus, JARVIS, what is that?”

An alarm blared as soon as they stepped through the doorway together. It wasn’t the Avengers alarm, or one of Tony’s other various emergency alarms, so he didn’t panic. He glared up at one of JARVIS’s cameras, waiting for an explanation.

“Apologies, Sir,” JARVIS made a noise like he was clearing his throat. “But Agent Romanov has asked me to play the alarm when team members refuse to abide by the mistletoe rule, of which you and Sergeant Barnes are currently in violation.”

“Override,” Tony waved a hand. Something passed across Bucky’s face, but Tony couldn’t decipher the expression before it smoothed out. “And Natasha never has to know.”

The alarm sounded again. “Unfortunately, Sir, you are unable to override this protocol,” said JARVIS. 

“I will reprogram you and send you to a community college in Jersey if you don’t turn off that noise,” Tony threatened. “Why can’t I override it?”

“I have been instructed not to share that information,” the AI said. 

Tony rolled his eyes. “Creator privilege, J,” he argued. “At least turn the volume of that stupid thing down. You’re going to wake the whole compound.”

“I think that’s the point,” Bucky said with a shrug. There was a tenseness in his shoulders that didn’t match his casual tone. “Natasha is diabolical like that.”

“If we hurry to the lab, we can avoid her wrath,” Tony suggested, making a move for the elevator and wincing when the alarm got louder. “Or not.”

“What, Stark, is the thought of kissing me that bad?” Bucky raised an eyebrow. 

Maybe it was the late hour, and the fact that it had been way too long since he’d slept. Maybe his impulse control had completely flown out the window, never to return again. Whatever it was, Tony barely thought before speaking. 

“Not at all,” he answered honestly, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “I just don’t want to make things weird between us, you know? You  _ just  _ started talking to me again; I don’t want to mess that up by kissing you and having you go back to avoiding me because you like Nat, or something. And then I have no one but myself to blame for ruining our friendship. And-”

“Hold on,” Bucky raised a hand, the beginnings of an amused smile forming on his lips. “ _ What  _ did you just say? Did you just say I liked  _ Natasha _ ?”

“Obviously,” said Tony. “You broke a glass when you saw her kiss me last week, then disappeared for two days. There’s literally no other explanation.”

“Think it through, genius,” Bucky said patiently. “Because I promise, I don’t like Natasha like that.”

Tony faltered, his brain sorting through the new information and coming to a conclusion. It didn’t seem right, no matter how many times he turned it over in his head, but it was what the data pointed to, and he was nothing if not a scientist. 

“Me?” he whispered finally. 

Bucky nodded. “You.”

“That’s not possible,” Tony shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Because you’ve been avoiding me since the mistletoe went up. Romcom logic says that you should’ve been at my side like glue if that were the case. Not that I, uh, watch romcoms. Ever.”

Bucky winced and took an aborted step forward. “I wanted to do it right,” he admitted. “Bring you flowers, take you to dinner, what you deserve. I didn’t want you to think that I wasn’t serious. In hindsight, I might’ve handled it the wrong way.”

Tony was sure he was gaping unattractively and his cheeks were on fire. “For the record, if you’d asked, I would’ve said yes,” he said, going for smooth but coming out somewhere around painfully honest. 

“Past tense?” Bucky looked like he was bracing for a hit.

“Only one way to find out,” Tony moved until they were almost brushing noses. “And would you look at that? Mistletoe.”

A grin spread across Bucky’s face and Tony’s knees felt weak. He never wanted Bucky to stop smiling. “You know the rules about mistletoe,” he rumbled.

Bucky leaned down at the same time Tony tilted his face up, connecting their lips with a soft sigh. It was better than Tony had imagined, soft and sweet and real. He wound his hands through Bucky’s hair, trying to pull the other man closer to him. 

Too soon, they were pulling apart to breath. Bucky rested his forehead against Tony’s, staring at him with something that looked a little like wonder. “Go steady with me, doll?” he asked softly.

And there was only one answer Tony could give to that. He leaned in for another kiss, resolving to thank Natasha for the mistletoe in the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos make me smile :))
> 
> yell at me on tumblr [@imposter-human](https://imposter-human.tumblr.com/)


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